We need to engage children during the Covid-19 pandemic, but how?

Every government across the world is concerned about the economic impact of Covid-19 crisis. The World Bank estimates the world GDP to fall by 5.2%. While there are worries about the continuing closing down of schools, it has not attracted the same attention as economic impact.

One of the reasons is that most countries, including India, are hoping that they will be able to start the schools “soon”. In some countries, where the infection has flattened, they may be able to open the schools. But it is not the case in India. There is an urgent need to think seriously about how to keep children engaged.

In this background, it was admirable on the part of S Suresh Kumar, Karnataka’s minister of Primary and Secondary Education to have organised a virtual meeting of NGOs on July 28 to find out how he can help them in engaging with the children.

Being the first meeting with several participants, there was no opportunity to discuss the innovative ways some NGOs have developed in any detail. Purpose of this article is to discuss one such project developed and being implemented by Pratham Mysuru, an NGO. The basic idea behind this project is to use parents as teachers when schools are closed.

Ever since the formal schools started, the role of parents in educating their children has been declining. Even in the case of urban areas where parents are educated and professional, for the most part, what they perform as ‘teaching’ is more like tutoring. In short, it is to prepare them to score high marks in examinations.

How often parents sit with children and discuss topics which are not taught in schools to impart values or discuss about their own profession or about the happenings in town, state, country or the world?

Before formal launching the “Parent as a Teacher” project, Pratham had sought comments from different educationists, experts and activists. While most appreciated the concept, some questioned what illiterate parents can teach and how they could be teachers. One need not be “literate” to spend time with children to create curiosity and to teach them the most basic learning tool of asking questions.

Today’s education system is geared more towards imparting the basic skill sets of reading, writing and maths. In the process, children unlearn the innate ability to ask questions and to get interested in things around them. Mark Twain has famously has said, “ I have never let my schooling interfere with my education”. But do we?

A farmer can teach his children about farming and the need to use water wisely, keeping surroundings clean, traditional food, etc. An illiterate mother can narrate stories about her childhood days or about village life. An illiterate grandmother can pass on age-old house remedies.

To start such “education”, Pratham Mysuru, has prepared some videos on cleanliness which it has distributed through WhatsApp. For those who do not have such applications, Pratham plans to call them and narrate the message over a mobile phone. After seeing the video or listening to the message, parents can sit with children and start a discussion.

This is just the beginning. Pratham has developed more than 50 topics in which children will be interested and on which any parent can start a discussion. It is likely that as more experience is gained, the list of topics will expand.

When we learnt that a former Fullbright scholar from the US, James Vopat, had developed “parent project” 30 years back involve immigrants to act as teachers, we talked to him to learn from his experience. We got the following three ideas from him.

Children can learn and write about their family history by interviewing their parents, grandparents, relatives and neighbours. Second, children can grow a small vegetable garden in some available land or plant trees and to study their growth. Third, is for parents to sit with the children and discuss what they want their children by attending schools and also to find out what children want to get from schools. While implementing these projects, children even without being told, learn about research, experimentation, writing, interviewing, the importance of history, etc.

Besides asking children to take up projects, we also plan to expand to storytelling which always attracts children. Every week, we will upload narration of two stories by an expert narrator. It is expected that parents and children will sit together to see or listen to these stories and discuss moral values. This type of individual programmes may complement the programs the government has already been involved through TV and radio.

It is here that the government can step in to promote the “parent” project. They should form a committee of experts to write a series of stories from Ramayana, Mahabharath, and about the life stories of Indian kings and freedom fighters, spiritual leaders of different religions, etc. All of them should be in Kannada.

The government can promote their publication through widely read newspapers and distribute them freely to children in villages and towns. This way during the pandemic, papers will get additional revenue through expanded sales. Let us not kill the idea by raising the objection that the dealers will defraud the government by claiming more sales. There will certainly be some amount of cheating.

We can recall how in ‘60s and ‘70s, papers like Sayunkth Karnataka used to publish articles on Shivaji by Galaganath, stories from Ramayana and Mahabharatha, etc. every week. These stories have left greater impressions on us than some of the lessons we learnt at schools. We can recreate this environment today.

This way we achieve several goals. We will transmit values based on Indian heritage and civilization. Children will develop the habit of reading newspapers. By discussing with parents, they get to learn to ask questions. In short, we create a residential school in each home where parents are teachers and impart real education by igniting critical thinking.

(Bhamy V Shenoy is an advisor and Ashvini Ranjan is a trustee of Pratham Mysuru)